The Best Summer Ever
by Dinx
Summary: Edward went in thinking it was going to be just like any other summer working at Camp Wannalayme, but it turned out to be anything but. Written for the Camp Twilight contest. AU/AH


_**A/N: **_

_**This is my one/shot for the Camp Twilight Contest, which one two awards. It was the winner of The Judge's Choice for Most Embarrassing Situation as well as as tied for Third in the Reader's Votes for Best Story. Not bad for a first contest. =)**_

_**Special thanks goes out to Holly_1980 for beta-ing, talking me through this and giving me tons of advice and encouragement when I needed it most, to Lisa for pre-reading/editing on the fly and laughing with me along the way, and to Derek for all of your manly tips- LOL! I heart you all.**_

_**Also, thanks to Keepers of the Naughty Sparkle for hosting the competition.**_

_**I don't own Twilight, but The Emmenator is all mine. ;-)**_

**The Best Summer Ever**

It was the summer before my senior year of college and my third year working at Camp Wannalayme. I was a senior counselor this year and to say that I was looking forward to it was a stretch, but I needed the money for school since I didn't work during the school year. All things considered, it really wasn't that hard of a job, either. Sure, I had to deal with kids all day long, but I got to spend my days out in the sun, playing and swimming, and got the better part of most evenings to chill.

Counselors had to arrive the week before the campers so we could get everything set-up and have activities planned. Emmett, another senior counselor, was also returning. We had become pretty good friends over the past few summers. He was a student like me, but where as I was working out of necessity, Emmett was doing it for fun. He was really just an oversized kid, but great to hang out with. There was never a dull moment when he was around.

Driving in to camp, I passed through the tall pines of Morning Wood Forest. The green density lined both sides of the narrow, two-lane road. The air was clean and crisp and kept me alert. I was hoping that there would be some other cool counselors this year since they would be newbies. There would be nothing worse than having to spend the summer with a bunch of douche bag losers or air-headed twits.

I pulled into the entrance and parked. Emmett was already unloading his Jeep when I got out.

"Cullen, my man," he called to me, stepping over and shaking my hand while giving me a one arm wrap. He smacked me on the back a few times before pulling back.

"You ready for the best summer ever?" he asked.

"Ready as I'm gonna be," I replied skeptically.

"Do I sense some doubt of the awesomeness that it will be, hanging all summer with The Emmenator?"

I laughed, shaking my head. Emmett earned his nickname a couple summers ago when he dressed up for a talent show at the end of the year. He did his best impersonation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, which wasn't that good, but the name kind of stuck. "Whatever, dude. We'll see how awesome it is once we meet everyone else. Any word on what we're gonna be dealing with?"

"Oh yes, fresh meat," he smirked. "Nope. Not really. Just know that there's another dude and three _fine_ ladies." He smiled big. Emmett was nothing if not a flirt. I had to give it to him, though. He was good at charming the girls.

"Fine, huh? What tells you that?"

"Just puttin' positive vibes out there, man. We can't be spendin' the summer with a bunch of sasquatches. God wouldn't do that to The Emmenator."

"Heh. It would be just my luck that that would be exactly the type to show up."

"No worries, bro. If worse comes to worse, I've got a whole crate full of booze." He tapped me on the back a few more times, chuckling.

I just groaned. Leave it to Emmett to think beer goggles were a solution for a hairy beast.

~xxx~

We finished unloading all of our stuff and got settled into our cabin. One of the greatest things was the fact that counselors got their own cabin to bunk in. There were two separate sides; one for the guys, a.k.a. The Woodchucks, and one for the girls, a.k.a. The Beavers. However, this was sure to become more co-ed if the rest of the counselors were cool. We hoped, at least. I wasn't a complete man-whore or anything, but try and go a whole summer without getting laid. It's not fun.

Just as we were about to head to the chow hall, the rest of our group arrived. Jasper was the first person we met. He came to our side of the cabin, since he was the other dude, and introduced himself. He was outgoing and friendly and seemed to fit right in with Emmett and I. We were stoked that he wasn't a complete dork or, even worse, a tool. The next step was going to meet the girls.

"So, Jasper, where are you from, dude?" Emmett asked.

"Originally, I'm from Texas. I've moved around a lot, though. My dad is in the military and we haven't stayed in one place for too long. I've been in Washington going to school for the past few years. What about y'all?" Jasper said.

"Well, Edward here is from Chicago, but he goes to school in Washington, too. Me, I'm from Tennessee. I've been coming to camp here since I was a kid. I had family in the area."

"Have y'all been counselors here long?" Jasper asked.

"The past three years," I semi-groaned. "It's been long enough. I graduate next year, so it'll be bye bye Camp Wannalayme, hello real world."

"Don't mind, Edward. He really loves it here. He just needs to re-adapt before he gets in the camping spirit. And by re-adapt, I mean get laid," Emmett goaded. "Speaking of which, have you met the girls yet? Please tell me there's at least one hot one."

"Ahem. One? Think again," a feminine voice said from across the room. We all turned to look and saw three gorgeous ladies standing in the doorway, laughing. "You must be the counselors in charge of the boys this year," the tall blonde one said.

"Well, hello, gorgeous," Emmett greeted her as he looked her up and down. "That would be us."

She smirked at him.

"Hey, ladies," I said as Jasper and I moved forward to shake their hands. "I'm Edward, this is Jasper, and that goon over there is Emmett."

"Goon?" he scoffed. "Don't hate. You know The Emmenator is the coolest kid in town."

Hysterical laughter broke out in the room. "Did he really just call himself The Emmenator?" the petite brown haired one with the big doe eyes asked. _Yes, I was already smitten._

"Afraid so," I replied, shaking my head at him. "And he's not joking when he says kid." They continued laughing as he pretended to be hurt. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Bella," she said. "This is Alice." She pointed to the tiny black haired girl who waved. "And that's Rosalie." She motioned to the blonde, and she nodded.

"Welcome. We're glad you guys are here." I smiled at her.

"Are y'all unpacked and settled in?" Jasper asked.

"For the most part. We still have more clothes to put away, but it can wait," Alice answered. "Right, girls?" They agreed with her.

"We hear you fellas are veteran counselors. Care to give us a tour?" Rosalie asked.

"Hell yeah" Emmett replied. "I'll lead the way."

We took them all around the camp as we learned more about the girls and where they were from. They were all college students like us and were from different parts of the US. Rose was from upstate New York, Alice was from Mississippi, and Bella was from Arizona. They were all three a part of a nationwide summer program to work with kids and earn money. The program was apparently offered through their universities and they had met at their internship the week before arriving at camp.

We showed them the different buildings; the chow hall, the infirmary, the front office, the campers' cabins and showers, the arts and crafts building, etc… We took them to the different outdoor stations that were used for activities and land sports. We showed them the tree climb and zip line area, and we ended on the dock over Lake Copafeel.

"So, are you girls up for some drinks tonight?" Emmett urged.

"I don't know," Rose replied, narrowing her eyes at him. "What do you girls think?"

"Maybe," Alice replied.

"What did you have in mind?" Bella asked.

"Well, we get most evenings off, especially the week before the campers get here. We usually hang out in our cabin, mix some drinks, listen to music, and just chill. Then, sometimes we come down here for a swim. A night like tonight would be perfect for that," I explained.

"Come on," Jasper encouraged them. We knew he was definitely one of us when he did that.

"I'm game," Alice said, excitedly.

"I guess," Bella agreed and shrugged.

"Fine," Rose stated. "But I'm the bartender and you'll drink what I make."

"Aww, come on! I'm not drinkin' fruity, girly drinks all night," Emmett declared.

Rose quirked an eyebrow at him. "Do you want us to hang out or not?"

"Yeah, but babe, I'm just sayin', I have a high tolerance. I need a man's drink."

"First of all, lover boy, I'm not your _babe_, and second of all, I know how to drink. Now, like I said, do you want us to hang out or not?"

"Maybe you should just listen to the lady, Em," I said.

He put his hands up in defeat. "Alright, you win. You can bartend… this time, but don't get used to it."

She smiled at him and replied, "We'll see."

~xxx~

We spent that first week getting to know each other. During the day we planned out activities, organized equipment, stocked supplies and prepared all the different stations for the upcoming campers. The evenings, we hung out. We talked, drank, swam, and some of us got closer.

It was great the way everything worked out, actually. There were three of us guys and the three girls, and as luck would have it, no two people were interested in the same person. Emmett definitely had the hots for Rose, and while she gave him a hard time, she liked him, too. Jasper and Alice paired off quickly. He was calm and laid back and she was energetic and excitable, so they were a nice complement to each other. And Bella, well, Bella was amazing. I knew that there was something special about her the minute I saw her. Thankfully, the attraction was mutual, and we became inseparable.

By the time the campers showed up, we were three couples, but more importantly, we were all friends. The group dynamic just worked. We got along great and we had the best time, even when we were playing pranks on each other, which was often. I think it all started around the time that Emmett came down with a case of Poison Ivy.

~xxx~

"Dude, cut it out!" I told him. Emmett was really starting to piss me off with his endless grabbing and rubbing of his crotch. Don't get me wrong, I'm a dude and was pretty blessed in size in that area. I understand needing to re-situate the boys now and then, but he was being ridiculous.

"I can't help it," he replied.

"What the fuck?" I asked.

"I don't know, dude. I'm just really itchy and I've got a bunch of little bumps down there."

"Bumps?" I questioned.

"Yeah. I think I got a bunch of mosquito bites or something."

"How the fuck would you get mosquito bites all of over your dick?"

"I guess it had to be from last night."

"We were hanging out last night, bro. I don't have any bug bites."

"Well maybe they think my blood is sweeter."

"Whatever, homo. Maybe you should go get that shit checked out. Does Rose know about this little problem you've got going on?"

"No, and I'd like to keep it that way for now. I'll run to the infirmary before lunch."

"Good luck with that."

Later that afternoon, Em didn't show up for lunch. We knew something was going on for him to miss a meal. He normally ate enough to feed three people. Rose went to spec it out once we were through. Turned out, Emmett didn't have mosquito bites. He had poison ivy… on his dick, of all places. Apparently he and Rose had a romp in the bushes late last night, and Emmett somehow managed to find a patch of the shit and brushed up against it; unlucky bastard. Rose was fine. She either wasn't susceptible to it or wasn't as unfortunate as he was.

Once we found out what was wrong, Jasper and I unleashed on him. It was too easy to make jabs at him.

"Heard about your outbreak," Jasper told him when we got back to our cabin.

"It's not an outbreak! It's not like I have a fucking STD, douche."

"No, but it definitely was the result of some _fucking_," I reminded him sarcastically.

"Shut up! At least I'm gettin' some," he replied.

I laughed. "_Were_ gettin' some. Rose isn't gonna let you near the holy land now, but look on the bright side, maybe it will swell up and you'll know what it's like to have a big one," I razzed him.

"Yeah, maybe you should take a flashlight with you next time and make sure the poison is next to a patch of four leaf clovers," Jasper added.

"What, why?" Emmett asked, looking confused.

"You know, so you'll have a rash of good luck," he replied and we laughed.

"Oh, ha-ha. Laugh it up, fuckers. Payback is a bitch, you know."

"Yeah, but we're not stupid enough to go rolling around in poison ivy with our peckers hanging out."

"Okay, I got you," he replied. "Let the games begin."

And commence they did. We were a little unsuspecting at first. We were thinking of obvious things he would try to do to us, but we really didn't know what his strategy would be. A good week or two passed and nothing happened, so we basically forgot about it. Then, one morning when we were all on swimming detail due to the water games we had planned for the day, Jasper, Emmett, and I got into our board shorts, as normal, and proceeded to walk down to the lake.

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary and Emmett was behaving in his usual loud and goofy way, telling jokes and making fun of some of the campers. Then, I started to feel extremely itchy. I tried to be nonchalant about my situation, but it became uncontrollable after a while. The slight pinching and rolling that normally made the ball itch go away wasn't working and I needed to fucking scratch.

I heard a snicker and looked to my right to see Emmett with a huge ass smile on his face as Jasper and I were both fucking scratching the hell out of our crotches.

I eyed him suspiciously and he cracked up when he took notice.

"You have something to do with this, don't you?" I seethed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he feigned innocence.

"What the fuck did you do?" Jasper asked him.

"Me? I didn't do anything." He raised his head and looked off, beginning to whistle and avoiding eye contact.

"Well, if you didn't actually _do_ something, you know who did."

"All I'm sayin' is that I told you payback would be a bitch. You don't mess with The Emmenator and get away with it."

"Oh fuck this shit!" I yelled. "I can't take it." I sprinted for the lake.

"Right behind ya!" Jasper called out from behind me.

We ran into the water as fast as we could. The kids were already out there lining the shore and the dock. The girls were as well. When they saw the ants in our pants dance we were doing, jerking around in the water, they were all cracking up and pointing. It was pretty embarrassing, I have to admit. We later discovered that Rose had found a recipe on how to make itching powder online. She got the ingredients together and mixed up a batch, giving it to Emmett to seek his revenge.

This meant war, and the girls were now included in the action. The rest of the summer played out much the same way. We'd play a prank on them and they'd get us back. We'd put fake mice in their sleeping bags and fake snakes on their doorstep; they would retaliate by baking up a batch of ex-lax brownies which made us run to the bathroom all day long. We would send them on wild goose chases through Morning Woods Forest and they would withhold sex for the next couple of days. It was all in good fun, and they could never stay mad for long.

While we pulled lots of pranks and had our fair share of drunken debauchery, that wasn't the only thing we did that summer. There was also a bit of romance thrown in the mix, as we'd each been lucky enough to find someone special. We hung out as a group every day, but we had our share of alone time with our significant others, too. Some of my fondest memories are from that time, and one in particular stands out above all others.

~xxx~

We had been hanging out having a few drinks in the girls' cabin. It was a stifling hot evening and the sweat was rolling off our skin in little beadlets, soaking our shirts and shorts. Alice and Jasper were cuddled up watching a movie and Emmett and Rose had just left to go to our side of the cabin. Knowing that it would be a while before it was safe to go in there, Bella and I opted to go for a walk.

We strolled hand in hand down to the lake and sat down on the dock, dangling our feet in the water. We talked about our families, school, what we wanted to do when we graduated, and where we saw ourselves in the future. It was a great talk and to break up the heaviness, Bella dared me to skinny dip in the lake. I told her I would do it, but only if she did, too. Much to my surprise and delight, she agreed.

We stripped out of our clothes and dove in the water. We swam out from shore to hide away from the lights on the dock. I playfully splashed Bella, and she tried to dunk me in return.

"Nice try, beautiful, but that's not going to work. I'm stronger and faster," I assured her.

She tried to swim away, but I was quick and grabbed on to her waist, pulling her back against my chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" I whispered to her seductively, and she yelped at the contact of my body pressed against hers.

"I know what you're doing, Mr. Cullen. Don't think that the irony of this Lake's name has been lost on me," she replied.

"Why whatever do you mean, Ms. Swan?" I asked.

"Don't play innocent with me," she said, sweeping a wisp of wet hair from my forehead. "You're trying to _cop a feel_." She laughed. "You know, if you play nice, I might let you."

"Is that so?" I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Hmm," she hummed, looking completely blissful and sexy as hell with her wet locks slicked back.

I gazed in her eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"I'm really glad that you came here this summer, and that we met. You've made it infinitely better."

"I'm glad, too, Edward." She returned the smile.

I cupped her face with one hand, gently stroking her cheek with the pad of my thumb, while the other hand gripped on to her, pulling her closer. Her arms circled my neck and I could feel the heat from her body. She was warm and slippery in the cool, night water. She wrapped her legs around me as the hand holding her hip drifted down over the back of her thigh before finding claim on her ass. My mouth found hers as I palmed her perky breasts with their pebbled nipples. The kiss started slow. Her lips were soft and moved perfectly against my own. It was passionate and loving and quickly became heated.

I sucked on her plump top lip before opening my mouth and darting my tongue out to lick her bottom one. She let out a moan, shifting her hips to create the much needed friction we were both in need of. She felt amazing. She opened her mouth, giving me access to deepen the kiss. Our tongues swirled together as we touched, and rubbed, and kissed each other frantically.

"Bella, I want you. Do you feel what you do to me?"

"I feel it. I want you, too," she replied, breathing heavily into my neck.

"What do you say we get out of this water and go somewhere?" I asked, nipping and sucking my way down her shoulder to her beautiful, pink nipple.

"Where are we going to go? Both of our cabins are occupied and we can't leave the camp."

"I know just the spot. It's private and no one will know we're there. I have some blankets in my car. I'll run and grab them and we'll camp out under the stars, just you and me. What do you say?"

"Sounds perfect," she said, placing one last chaste kiss on my lips before we got back to shore.

We got out and dried off with our clothes, throwing them back on quickly and laughing quietly in an effort to avoid getting caught.

We got the blankets and I took Bella to a little hidden cove on the side of the lake furthest from the entrance. It was quiet and secluded, perfect for some time alone with my girl. After making sure there was no poison ivy, as to avoid a repeat of Operation Crotch Itch, we lay on the blanket under the stars, kissing, touching, and caressing each other. Everything just felt right. She felt right. We'd had sex before, but this was different. This was the first night that we made love, and before falling asleep, I told her. I was completely head over heels in love, and thankfully, so was she.

~xxx~

Summer wrapped up and our time at Camp Wannalayme drew to an end. The campers went home and it was time for us to go, as well, but it wasn't the end of our story. When camp first started, it was a job for me and not much else. I had no real hopes of it being anymore than a paycheck and another summer gone. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was way more than that. What happened that summer was life changing. The six of us formed a bond of friendship that would not be broken. We teased and played pranks on each other, but the relationships we forged at that camp with the silly names, were the most important of our lives.

Emmett and Rose still argue and bicker, but he worships the ground she walks on and she couldn't live without him. They're married and live in Tennessee, where Emmett took over his dad's business. They have three beautiful daughters. It would appear that God has a sense of humor giving The Emmenator several young ladies to stress over.

Jasper and Alice got married before they were even out of college. Alice transferred and moved to Washington so that they could be together full time. They finished their last year of school there before Jasper decided to go to grad school back in Texas. They live in Austin now. Jasper is a psychologist with his own practice and Alice owns a trendy boutique and designs clothes. They have a little boy.

That leaves Bella and me. We physically went our separate ways after camp. I went back to my campus in Washington and Bella went to hers in Phoenix. However, we were still together emotionally. It was the longest and hardest year of our lives. We kept in touch. We talked on the phone every day and we e-mailed, but it wasn't the same as being next to one another. I visited her over Christmas and she came to see me over spring break. Then, as soon as school was out, we both moved to New York and got an apartment together. We lived there for about a year before deciding to come back to Washington. Now, we _own_ Camp Wannalayme and we're expecting our first child this summer.

The six of us get together several times a year now. We take turns visiting each other's cities and the others always come back to camp in the summer. In fact, their kids are all enrolled this year. When I think back to that first day of Emmett and I talking in the parking lot, I remember that he asked me a question. He asked if I was ready for the best summer ever. I didn't believe it then, but I know now; he was right. It _was_ the best summer ever, and I have the best friends and best life a guy could ever ask for.

_**Thanks for reading! Campward and The Emmenator want your vote for Camp Twilight! **_

_***Smooches, bb's***_


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